Living Room

One month after purchasing our first home we moved in with all of our furniture ~ most of which resided in the living room. Yup, that's it above! Like most first time home buyers, we weren't completely sure where to start, so it took us 6 months of focusing on other home projects before we re-focused our attention to this room. First on our to-do list was to brighten up the dark khaki walls.

Before:

After:

For paint we used Benjamin Moore's Hush. We also purchased three Allen + Roth roman shades in honey for $25 a piece. It's amazing what a little paint can do ~ by brightening up the space, it seemed so much bigger! Now with all that room we worked on making an area that would help keep us organized.

Then it was time to start updating furniture. I knew exactly what I wanted ~ neutral pieces that could easily transition from season to season that would keep our small space feeling airy and bright. We quickly started having sticker shock when we saw how expensive furniture can be! So when we came across these West Elm Sweep Armchairs we fell in love with their sleek lines and neutral texture. We completely lucked out when they happened to be on sale ~ and on top of that, our store was willing to sell their floor samples at an additional discount.

I was (and still am) ~ so proud of these chairs ~ mainly because they were by far our most expensive purchase to date. For curtains we hit up our local Ikea and purchased two sets of sheer white. Black cafe curtain rods were purchased from Target.

We then set out to save more pennies to purchase a couch. I knew I wanted white and quickly decided on a slip covered couch. Slipcovers allow for easy cleaning and would give us the option to change it out entirely in the future. We decided on Pottery Barn's Basic Sofa in Brushed Canvas, Natural. After reading reviews online, I saw that PB typically had an annual sofa sale. We waited for this and purchased our sofa on sale. We've been very happy with this for the past two years! Surprisingly, it has held up very well ~ typically I'll vacuum it with a brush attachment to clean off any dog hairs and dirt (our pup is known to put muddy paws on it from time to time). And when needed will throw the slipcover in the wash.

So one year after purchasing our home, our living was slowly starting to take shape. In search for side tables I found this Crackle Lattice Garden Stool from Mecox Garden. The exuberant price tag made me determined to find an affordable look alike ~ so you can imagine my excitement when I found one at Decor Decor here in Atlanta. And the most exciting thing ever?! I found this one in their scratch & dent section for $25! It had fractured slightly during the firing process, but had since been re-glazed! Best score ever!

Hi, Birgit! All three were purchased from the Pottery Barn Outlet, at a discount in Dawsonville, Georgia. The large round basket is Pottery Barn's Beachcomber and the rectangular one is the Bailey Basket. I believe the Seagrass Ottoman has since been discontinued ~ here's one that's similar: http://www.potterybarn.com/products/woven-seagrass-tuffet/?cm_src=AutoSchRel

I hope this helps, and please let me know if you have any further questions!Best,Michelle

just found your blog! I love what I've read & seen so far :) Just out of curiosity, what do you store in the antique hutch? I always wonder what types of things to display behind glass doors and what to hide away! Thanks!

Hi, Rachael ~ thanks so much for taking the time to say hello! In the photo above I have 1960s & 70's Gourmet Magazine Binders on the bottom shelf ~ on the top I have my collection of white vintage vases, a photo from our wedding & a seagrass rose bouquet from Charleston, SC. I do like to change what's in the hutch seasonally and always try to keep to a similar color palette or a similar collection, when displaying books, vases, etc. I like to use odd numbers in groupings. I hope this helps a bit & I'll plan to do a more in depth post on the subject this month!

Hi, Stacey! Thanks so much ~ it's my favorite room in the house! The green trellis pillows were purchased from Z Gallerie, and are currently no longer available :(I bought the floral pillows last year at the Inman Park Festival in Atlanta from an interior designer ~ she said the fabric had been left over from a client project. While she doesn't sell them, I did find this Etsy listing that looks like the same fabric: http://www.etsy.com/listing/130234570/both-sides-18x18-20x20-22x22-beautiful?ref=exp_listing

We bought ours in January ~ but I'm pretty sure they have semi-annual & other promotions throughout the year. You may want to contact PB directly or if you live close to one of the PB Outlets you may get lucky finding one there. Hope this helps!

I really am ~ we wanted something that would still allow light into the room. If you're looking for more privacy you'll want to add a fabric panel to these or look elsewhere ~ but if you want light, bright & airy ~ the texture and color of these are great! I also compared prices to other linen curtains and these seemed like the best quality at this price point.

I really love the look. As far as the rods, I also have a big picture window like you...did the largest size rod fit? Are you happy with them? Thanks so much again... Hoping to get to Target/Ikea this weekend!

With so many things in our house, nothing is typically a 'standard' size :) Our picture window happened to be right in between two different rod sizes, so we went with the larger of the two. Be sure to measure your window and go with the size that works with yours. I'm happy with these because they were exactly what I was looking for ~ simple, thin, black ones and the price was right for my budget. They're not extremely strong and they can scratch easily if you're not careful. So if you plan to go with different curtains, like really heavy velvet ones, this may not be the best option. Hope you have a fun shopping trip!

If I remember correctly I think these only come in one size. Again, nothing in our house is standard sizing and our ceiling height is just under 8 feet. If anything, these curtains were too long for us and can easily be fixed by altering the length. If you have ceiling heights like ours you'll be good, but be sure to take measurements first. I hope these end up working for you, but also check out others at Ikea, I know they've come out with quite a few new ones since we bought ours. Good luck!!

Good eye! That is correct ~ it's just twine and clothespins :) It's my go to for parties or holidays. In the photo above Brian's Grandma was visiting ~ so I printed old photos of him & her as well as recent ones. Thanks for commenting!!

Hi! I just found your blog when your house was featured on "Hooked on Houses." Love what you've done. Did you refinish the floors, because my eye keeps going to them? I'm hoping we can get our floors to look like yours after we rip up the carpet and linoleum.

Hi, Loribeth ~ truth be told the floors could probably use re-finishing. They're original to our 1950's home and well used to say the least :) I will say that we have spent a lot of time cleaning them and using a wood floor cleaner to brighten them up a bit. Also, the before photos were taken with my point and shoot camera and the after with a dslr~ so the quality of the after is better. But, if you are looking to accomplish the same tone and color in the after photo, we just installed wood floors in our kitchen and used Minwax Natural Stain in Satin and they surprisingly matched up to our originals WAY better than we expected. Hope this helps and sorry for such a long reply :)

Hi, Michelle. I'm a new follower and I love your style, especially the neutral palettes and all the natural accents of seagrass, sisal, baskets, etc. Can you tell me where you got your dining room chairs? I have a round oak table that I am going to either restain or paint and have been debating which kind of chairs to use. When I saw yours, bingo! That was the look I was going for. I hope I can still find something similar if not the exact chairs. Thanks.

Hi, Karen ~ I'm so happy to hear someone else likes those dining room chairs! I found them for a steal at a local flea market ~ they're vintage rattan cane chairs that needed some TLC. I'm starting to see rattan and wicker popping up everywhere. I would suggest checking out local listings for a vintage set. Or quite a few retailers are making new updated versions. On a recent trip to Ikea I saw these that seem pretty similar: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80234019/#/60234020I hope this helps a bit ~ I know that oak table of yours will turn out great!! So have fun giving it new life!

Hello! I saw your family room on Pinterest awhile back and it was like I was looking at my own living room (except yours is arranged and furnished SO MUCH BETTER). The set up is the same, and I've been struggling with how to make the room feel bigger, yet cozy.

Question, do you mind sharing room dimensions? I'm wondering if my family room could handle the same amount of furniture (love those chairs!!).